I have been shopping for a smaller 9mm pistol for concealed carry with a coat on, or a car gun, etc. Our current 9mm is a CZ P-09 (thread reference linked here), which is very much a full-sized gun, and it makes a great bed-side gun. I was shopping Glocks, because I do like the interchangeability of parts (like magazines) and that you can get holsters and accessories for them everywhere. I was looking at the 19 and the 26. I liked the fit of the 26 in my hands better, but liked the size of the 19 better. I really couldn't decide.
I was out of work early on Thursday afternoon due to an illness, and while I was at home "resting", I was looking over my P-09. Only then did the following occur to me, and essentially in this order:
Like the P-09, it's a VERY high quality polymer pistol for not a lot of money. The frame has excellent visual quality to it...no mold/cut lines anywhere...excellent checkering on the front and backstraps, palm grips, and finger/thumb memory spot above the trigger. I love that bit of checkering there. Lots of metal in this polymer pistol, including the trigger and magazine release. Very nice-feeling parts. The trigger is CZ's very nice Omega trigger. It has a heavy-but-smooth 9-10 pound DA pull. SA is light at about 3 pounds. There is some creep and take-up in SA, but that's to be expected some with a DA/SA trigger with a firing pin block. There are many upgrade parts from Cajun Gun Works, though, and I may dabble some in that over time.
The new P-07 also has removable backstraps, and comes with three sizes, like the P-09. I go back and forth between the small and the medium sizes. With any of the sizes, these CZs have a very natural point of aim for me. That was one thing I strugged with on the Glock 19. Eyes closed, I point a G19 straight up in the air at presentation.
You can certainly see the family heritage here. The P-09 and P-07 share frames that are identical except for muzzle length and grip length. The trigger area is exactly the same.
The P-09 holds 19+1, and the new P-07 holds 15+1. The 07 used to hold 16+1 in 9mm...not sure why it was reduced by one round for 2014. Some say that it made the end of the grip area more compact. The 07 lost its lanyard loop at the end of the main spring housing as well, so I think the 15 vs. 16 round count was in keeping with a small and carryable pistol. The overall size of the P-07 is very close to the size of a Glock 19.
Yes, you can run the 19 round magazines from the P-09 in the P-07.
Like with the P-09, the P-07's quality of manufacture extends inside. The polish on the feed ramp is like a mirror. The barrels are cold hammer forged.
It appears that both pistols use the same recoil spring. Both are captured springs; the P-09 uses a steel guide rod and the P-07 uses a polymer guide rod. Because they're captured springs, I can't confirm that they have the same free length, but it appears that they might. Barrel length on the P-09 is 4.53", and is 3.80" on the P-07.
Like with the magazines, the barrels appear to interchange. The gun cycles fine with the larger barrel, though I'll admit that I haven't shot it like this (and don't plan to). I just thought it'd be fun to see if they'd cross-fit.
Both the P-09 and P-07 now share a very high quality nitrided finish...this finish was introduced on the P-09 last year, and is an upgrade from the previous finish on the P-07 Duty. CZ was said to have upgraded their "glow" sights this year, and it certainly shows. My 2013 model P-09 has greenish glow sights that are supposed to glow when charged with light, but they never really did. The new P-07 has large three-dot glow sights that truly do glow.
I continue to be highly impressed with CZ's pistols. High quality at a very fair price. More than fair in my opinion. I will update this thread after I have a few hundred rounds down the pipe, which I hope to do very soon. I have about 500 through the P-09, and it's been without flaw. I expect no different from the new P-07.
- CZ has updated the P-07 in 2014, and it now includes the flatter trigger from the P-09, as well as a general "dehorning" of the slide. I like it a lot better than the earlier model with a mouthful of a name (CZ 75 P-07 Duty). In fact, that's why I originally bought the P-09...the upgraded P-07 was not yet available.
- My wife does like how the P-09 shoots. She commented that it was hard to rack the slide, because there wasn't much of it to grab. We worked on that some and she's found a better technique. I like having two "primary" weapons for her to use that operate the same. The P-09 is a hammer-fired DA/SA pistol, which is what I prefer.
- Glocks have interchangeability, but you know what? I don't own any Glocks. What I do own is two 19 round magazines that probably click-in to the P-07. Quick internet check: they do.
- CZs are harder to find accessories for, but at the end of the day, how often do I walk into a store and think, "gee, I think I want to buy a holster for my gun today?" There are a lot of good holsters out there...they're just not necessarily found in the local Gander Mountain store. In the grand scheme, this really shouldn't be an issue.
Like the P-09, it's a VERY high quality polymer pistol for not a lot of money. The frame has excellent visual quality to it...no mold/cut lines anywhere...excellent checkering on the front and backstraps, palm grips, and finger/thumb memory spot above the trigger. I love that bit of checkering there. Lots of metal in this polymer pistol, including the trigger and magazine release. Very nice-feeling parts. The trigger is CZ's very nice Omega trigger. It has a heavy-but-smooth 9-10 pound DA pull. SA is light at about 3 pounds. There is some creep and take-up in SA, but that's to be expected some with a DA/SA trigger with a firing pin block. There are many upgrade parts from Cajun Gun Works, though, and I may dabble some in that over time.
The new P-07 also has removable backstraps, and comes with three sizes, like the P-09. I go back and forth between the small and the medium sizes. With any of the sizes, these CZs have a very natural point of aim for me. That was one thing I strugged with on the Glock 19. Eyes closed, I point a G19 straight up in the air at presentation.
You can certainly see the family heritage here. The P-09 and P-07 share frames that are identical except for muzzle length and grip length. The trigger area is exactly the same.
The P-09 holds 19+1, and the new P-07 holds 15+1. The 07 used to hold 16+1 in 9mm...not sure why it was reduced by one round for 2014. Some say that it made the end of the grip area more compact. The 07 lost its lanyard loop at the end of the main spring housing as well, so I think the 15 vs. 16 round count was in keeping with a small and carryable pistol. The overall size of the P-07 is very close to the size of a Glock 19.
Yes, you can run the 19 round magazines from the P-09 in the P-07.
Like with the P-09, the P-07's quality of manufacture extends inside. The polish on the feed ramp is like a mirror. The barrels are cold hammer forged.
It appears that both pistols use the same recoil spring. Both are captured springs; the P-09 uses a steel guide rod and the P-07 uses a polymer guide rod. Because they're captured springs, I can't confirm that they have the same free length, but it appears that they might. Barrel length on the P-09 is 4.53", and is 3.80" on the P-07.
Like with the magazines, the barrels appear to interchange. The gun cycles fine with the larger barrel, though I'll admit that I haven't shot it like this (and don't plan to). I just thought it'd be fun to see if they'd cross-fit.
Both the P-09 and P-07 now share a very high quality nitrided finish...this finish was introduced on the P-09 last year, and is an upgrade from the previous finish on the P-07 Duty. CZ was said to have upgraded their "glow" sights this year, and it certainly shows. My 2013 model P-09 has greenish glow sights that are supposed to glow when charged with light, but they never really did. The new P-07 has large three-dot glow sights that truly do glow.
I continue to be highly impressed with CZ's pistols. High quality at a very fair price. More than fair in my opinion. I will update this thread after I have a few hundred rounds down the pipe, which I hope to do very soon. I have about 500 through the P-09, and it's been without flaw. I expect no different from the new P-07.
